Bye bye Yvo
News emerged this week that Yvo de Boer, the United Nations top climate official, is giving up his post this come July.
Yvo, the relentless executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is said to be frustrated over the debacle of the Copenhagen conference which failed to produce binding emission cut controls on greenhouse gases, and understandably so.
“Copenhagen did not provide us with a clear agreement in legal terms, but the political commitment and sense of direction toward a low-emissions world are overwhelming,” Boer said, who held the position since 2006.
Yvo's departure certainly comes as a blow to the ongoing climate negotiations under the auspices of the UN. From my own experience at the UN conferences, Yvo was a highly respected figure amongst both country negotiators and members of civil society, and worked tirelessly to bring negotiators to the table to come to an agreement.
“With Boer, the
great steersman of the climate proceedings is abandoning ship,” said
Greenpeace’s head of climate change policy, Martin Kaiser. US Senator
John Kerry, who has been leading negotiations on climate legislation in
Congress, credited de Boer with bringing the world’s major polluters to
the table in Copenhagen and said he was hopeful a final deal was still
possible by the Mexico summit.
“The fanatics, naysayers, and science deniers will not derail the
global community from doing what’s right to secure the future of our
planet, and in that, our commitment has never been stronger,” Kerry
said in a statement.
"science deniers"? I can almost envision Kerry frothing at the mouth as he levels that peculiar charge :).
Posted by: Anamerican | February 21, 2010 at 03:46 PM
Yes there was agreement in Copenhagen....
They agreed to agree there was a need to agree on an agreement to agree...
An outstanding success I would say.
Posted by: W.Palmer | February 23, 2010 at 05:20 PM
Please watch my video
It's about climate change, earth catastrophes and our planet as we lives in.
Recent Earth catastrophe - Continental Drift: One huge continent became 2 continents, then 5 (or 6) and then?
Thank you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7I_eFoIk64
Posted by: Andi Prama | February 24, 2010 at 05:24 PM